From Teeka Tiwari, editor, Mega Trends Investing: Think back to the “original Internet”—it connected people online though email and websites. We first accessed the Internet from a desktop computer at home or work.

Internet access was a bit of a hassle in the early days. You probably connected with a modem that hooked through your phone line, which meant you couldn’t be on the phone and on the Internet at the same time.

Soon, though, the telecom companies laid down fiber cables from sea to sea. And Internet connectivity without being directly “plugged in” was no longer an issue.

Today, we have smartphones, tablets, and laptops. And, fortunately, we don’t have to plug in Ethernet cables to use them.

We have “wireless Internet” to thank for this. Most airports, coffee shops, and restaurants in the U.S. offer “Wi-Fi” access today. You probably have Wi-Fi in your home and office, too.

  Ordering your cup of Joe online

Your local Starbucks’ Wi-Fi has come a long way in just a few years. It can now handle every customer in the store connecting their phones, laptops, and tablets to the Internet.

But what if every single “thing” in the store also needed to connect to the Internet? I’m talking about the espresso machine… the cash register… and maybe each chair and table.

It might sound silly now—but in a few years, all of these “things” may need their own connection, too.

Five years ago, the Wi-Fi connection in Starbucks had to handle only Internet traffic from laptops.

Today, it must accommodate Internet traffic from smartphones and tablets as well. That’s a two to three times increase from a few years ago.

  Starbucks finally offered free Wi-Fi—after customers demanded it

Over that time period, Wi-Fi technology improved enough to handle this increase effortlessly.

But it’s not going to be able to keep up with the flood of traffic that’s coming…

Because five years from now, every “thing” in Starbucks will also be hooked up to the Net.

The espresso machine will need to contact headquarters when it needs a tuneup… or a replacement.

The coffee containers will know when the store is running low on coffee beans. Or pumpkin spice. And they’ll place a new order automatically.

This is the promise of the Internet of Things. It’s a huge opportunity. Cisco’s CEO John Chambers pegs its growth at $19 trillion over the next five years.

But for the espresso machine to reorder coffee beans, it must be able to connect to the Internet.

The technology for this will be available soon. Each “thing” will have its own controller that is smart enough to keep track of what it needs.

But connectivity is going to be a big issue.

When every “thing” in your home, office, and Starbucks is trying to talk to the Internet at the same time—and do so wirelessly—it’s going to crash the entire wireless connection.

This is a big problem. And a big opportunity for the one company with the technology to solve it.

  The world’s Wi-Fi “gap” is growing

Technology experts believe wireless traffic could grow to 53 times current levels over the next decade. That’s more than 120 billion new wireless “hot spots” around the world.

But wireless capacity is not on track to keep pace. It will grow to only 25 times today’s levels.

The “gap” between actual wireless capacity and projected growth presents a big opportunity for providers of “enterprise” Wi-Fi products.

And my favorite “pick-and-shovel” company installed the Wi-Fi system in “the world’s center of technology innovation”…

  Massive triple-digit gains await these shareholders

If the Wi-Fi-related technology company I like is able to maintain its current growth rate, it will grow sales eightfold by the end of 2020. And even if growth slows down to “only” 24% per year or so, it will still quadruple sales by then.

That means it will be selling at least $1.2 billion worth of fancy Wi-Fi equipment annually. So if the stock trades at only two times sales then—to account for lower growth rates—shareholders will still be rewarded with a 240% return in five years.

And if it’s able to maintain its 30%-plus growth, shareholders will see 400-500% gains.

Bottom line: The Internet of Things is ramping up. Let’s make sure we stake our claim with this “pick-and-shovel” tech company now. Mega Trends Investing subscribers can click here to access the recommendation.